Neurovascular Coupling

I read this today in an article about flavanols in cocoa reversing cognitive impairment in the elderly by increasing blood flow to the brain:

“We’re learning more about blood flow in the brain and its effect on thinking skills,” said study author Dr Farzaneh Sorond a neurologist at Harvard Medical School.

“As different areas of the brain need more energy to complete their tasks, they also need greater blood flow. This relationship, called neurovascular coupling, may play an important role in diseases such as Alzheimer’s.”

It seems ridiculous that nobody seems to see any link between depression and neurovascular coupling. Perhaps they just never bother to question the received wisdom, like in the story below from yesterday: